University of Virginia Library

Actus. 5.

Scæn. 1.

Enter Homer.
Hom.
A dumbe shew. Enter King Troos and Ganimed with attendents, To him, Saturne makes suite for aide, shewes the King his models, his inuentions, his seuerall mettals, at the strangnesse of which King Troos is moued, cals for drum, and collors, and marches with Saturne.

Enter Neptune and Pluto.
Nep.
Whence are these warlike preparations,
Made by the King our brother.

Plu.
'Tis giuen out,
To conquer Arges. But my sister Iuno
Suspects some amorous purpose in the King?

Nep.
And blame her not, the faire Europaes rape,
Brought from Ægenor, and the Cadmian rape,
Io the daughter of old Inachus,
Deflour'd by him; the louely Semele,
Faire Leda daughter to King Tyndarus
With many more, may breed a iust suspect,
Nor hath hee spar'd faire Ceres Queene of Graine,
Who bare to him the bright Proserpina.
Such scapes may breed iust feares, & what knowes shee
But these are to surprise faire Danae.

Sound. Enter Iupiter, Archas, with drum & souldiers.
Iup.
Arme royall brothers, Creet's too small an Ile,
To comprehend our greatnesse, we must adde
Arges and Greece to our Dominions.
And all the petty Kingdomes of the earth,
Shall pay their homage vnto Saturnes sonne,
This day wee'l take a muster of our forces,
And forward make for Arges.

Archas.
All Archadia
Assemble to this purpose.

Iup.
Then set on.
The Eagle in our ensigne wee'l display,
Ioue and his fortunes guide vs in our way.

Enter King Melliseus.
Melli.
Whether intends the King this warlike march?

Iup.
For Arges and Acrisius.

Melli.
Rather guard,
Your natiue confines, see vpon your Coast,
Saturne with thirty thousand Troians landed
And in his aid King Troos and Ganimed.

Iup.
In neuer worse time could the Tyrant come
Then now, to breake my faith with Danae.
Oh beauteous loue, I feare Acrisius ire
Will with seuerest censure chastice thee,
And thou wilt deeme me faithlesse and vnkinde
For promise-breach, (but what we must we must)
Come valiant Lords, wee'l first our owne defend
Ere against forreine climes our arme extend.

Sownd. Enter with drum and colours, King Troos, Saturne, Ganimed, with other Lords and attendants.
Sat.
Degenerate boyes, base bastards, not my sonnes,
Behold the death we threatned in your Cradles
We come to giue you now. See here King Troos
In pitty of deposed Saturnes wrongs,
Is come in person to chastice your pride,
And be the heauens relentlesse Iusticer.

Iup.
Not against Saturne as a Father, we,
But as a murderer, lift our opposite hands.
Nature and heauen giues vs this priuiledge,
To guard our liues gainst tyrants and inuaders,
That claime we, as we're men, we would but liue:
Then take not from vs, what you cannot giue.

Tro.
Where hath not Saturns fame abrode bene spred
For many vses he hath giuen to man;
As Nauigation, Tillage, Archery,
Weapons and gold? yet you for all these vses
Depriue him of his kingdome.

Plut.
We but saue
Our Innocent bodies from th'abortiue graue,

Nept.
We are his sonnes, let Saturne be content
To let vs keepe what Heauen and Nature lent.

Gani.
Those filiall duties you so much forget
We come to teach you. Royall Kings to armes,
Giue Ganimed the onset of this battell,
That being a sonne knowes how to lecture them,
And chastice their transgressions.

Sat.
Ganimed,
It shall be so, powre out your spleene and rage
On our proud Issue. Let the thirsty soyle
Of barren Creet quaffe their degenerate blouds,
And surfeit in their sinnes. All Saturnes hopes
And fortunes are ingag'd vpon this day.
It is our last, and all, bee't our endeuour
To win't for ay, or else to loose it euer.

Alarme. The battels ioyne, the Troians are repul'st.
Enter Troos and Saturne.
Tro.
Our Troians are repul'st, wher's Ganimed?

Sat.
Amid'st the throng of weapons, acting wonders.
Twice did I call alowd to haue him flye,
And twice he swore he had vow'd this day to dye.

Troos.
Let's make vp to his rescue.

Sat.
Tush, tis vaine.
To seeke to saue him we shall loose our selues.
The day is lost, and Ganimed lost too
Without diuine assistance. Hye my Lord
Vnto your shippes, no safety liues a land,
Euen to the Oceans margent we are pursu'd,
Then saue your selfe by sea.

Troos.
Creet thou hast wonne
My thirty thousand Souldiers, and my Sonne.
Come, let's to sea.

Exit.
Sat.
To sea must Saturne too,
To whom all good starres are still opposite.
My Crowne I first bought with my infants bloud,
Not long enioy'd, till Tytan wrested it;
Re-purchast, and re-lost by Iupiter.
These horrid mischiefes that haue crown'd our brows,
Haue bred in vs such strange distemprature,
That we are growne deiected and forlorne.
Our bloud is chang'd to Inke, our haires to quils,
Our eyes halfe buried in our quechy plots.
Consumptions and cold agues haue deuour'd
And eate vp all our flesh, leauing behinde
Nought saue the Image of despaire and death:
And Saturne shall to after ages be
That starre, that shall infuse dull melancholy.
To Italy I'le flye, and there abide,
Till diuine powers my place aboue prouide.

Exit.
Alarme. Enter Ganimed compast in with soldiers, to them Iupiter, Neptune, Pluto, Archas Melliseus.
Iup.
Yeeld noble Troian, ther's not in the field
One of thy Nation lifts a hand saue thee.

Gani.
Why that's my honour, when alone I stand
Gainst thee and all the forces of thy land.

Iup.
I loue thy valour, and would woo thy friendship,
Go freely, where thou wilt, and ransomlesse.

Gan.
Why that's no gift: I am no prisoner,
And therefore owe no ransome, hauing breath,
Know I haue vow'd to yeeld to none saue death.

Iup.
I wish thee nobly Troian, and since fauour
Cannot attaine thy love, I'le try conclusions,
And see if I can purchase it with blowes.

Gan.
Now speak'st thou like the noblest of my foes.

Iup.
Stand all a-part, and Princes girt vs round.

Gan.
I loue him best, whose strokes can lowdest sound.

Alarme, they fight, and loosing their weapons embrace.
Iup.
I haue thee, and will keep thee.

Gan.
Not as prisoner.

Iup.
A prisoner to my loue, else thou art free,
My bosome friend, for so I honour thee.

Gan.
I am conquer'd both by Armes and Courtesie.

Nept.
The day is ours, Troos and K. Saturn's fled,
And Iupiter remaines sole conquerour.

Plu.
Peace with her golden wings houers ore Creet,
Frighting hence discord, and remorslesse warre:
Will Iupiter make vp for Arges now?

Mell.
Winter drawes on, the sea's vn-nauigable,
To transport an Army. There attends without
A Lord of Arges.

Iup.
Bring him to our presence.
Enter Arges.
How stands it with the beauteous Danae?

Arg. L.
As one distrest by Fate, and miserable.
Of K. Acrisius, and his Fort of brasse,
Danaes inclosure, and her Beldam guard,
Who but hath heard? yet through these brasen walles
Loue hath broke in, and made the maide a mother
Of a faire sonne, which when Acrisius heard,
Her female guard vnto the fier hee doomes,
His daughter, and the infant prince her sonne,
He puts into a mastles boat to sea,
To proue the rigor of the stormy waues.

Iup.
Acrisius, Arges, and the world shall know
Ioue hath beene wrong'd in this: her further fortunes
Canst thou relate?

Arges L.
I can. As farre as Naples
The friendly winds her mastlesse boat transports,
There succourd by a curteous Fisher-man
Shee's first releeu'd, and after that presented
To King Pelonnus, who at this time reignes:
Who rauisht with her beauty, crownes her Queene,
And deckes her with th'Imperiall robes' of state.

Iup.
What we haue scanted is supply'd by fate.
Here then cease Armes, and now court amorous peace
With solemne triumphes, and deere Ganimed,
Be henceforth cal'd The friend of Iupiter.
And if the Fates hereafter crowne our browes
With diuine honours, as we hope they shall,
Wee'l style thee by the name of Cup-bearer,
To fill vs heauenly Nectar, as faire Hebe
Shall do the like to Inno our bright Queene.
Here end the pride of our mortality.
Opinion, that makes Gods, must style vs higher.
The next you see vs, we in state must shine,
Eternized with honours more diuine.

Exeunt omnes.
Enter Homer.
Homer.
Of Danae Perseus was that night begot,
Perseus that fought with the Gorgonian shield,
Whose fortunes to pursue Time suffers not.
For that, we haue prepar'd an ampler field.
Likewise how Ioue with faire Alcmena lay:
Of Hercules, and of his famous deeds:
How Pluto did faire Proserpine betray:
Of these my Muse (now trauel'd) next proceedes.
Yet to keepe promise, ere we further wade,
The ground of ancient Poems you shall see:
And how these (first borne mortall) Gods were made,
By vertue of diuinest Poesie.
The Fates, to whom the Heathen yeeld all power,
Whose doomes are writ in marble, to endure,
Haue summon'd Saturnes three sonnes to their Tower,
To them the three Dominions to assure
Of Heauen, of Sea, of Hell. How these are scand,
Let none decide but such as vnderstand.
Sound a dumbe shew. Enter the three fatall sisters, with a rocke, a threed, and a paire of sheeres; bringing in a Gloabe, in which they put three lots. Iupiter drawes heauen: at which Iris descends and presents him with his Eagle, Crowne and Scepter, and his thunder-bolt. Iupiter first ascends vpon the Eagle, and after him Ganimed.
To Iupiter doth high Olimpus fall.
Who thunder and the trisulke lightning beares
Dreaded of all the rest in generall:
He on a Princely Eagle mounts the Spheares,
Sound. Neptune drawes the Sea, is mounted vpon a sea-horse, a Roabe and Trident, with a crowne are giuen him by the Fates
Neptune is made the Lord of all the Seas,
His Mace a Trident, and his habite blew.
Hee can make Tempests, or the waues appease,
And vnto him the Sea-men are still true.
Sound, Thunder and Tempest. Enter at 4 seuerall corners the 4 winds: Neptune riseth disturb'd: the Fates bring the 4 winds in a chaine, & present them to Æolus, as their King.
And for the winds, these brothers that still warre,
Should not disturbe his Empire, the three Fates
Bring them to Æolus, chain'd as they are,
To be inclos'd in caues with brazen gates.
Sound. Pluto drawes hell: the Fates put vpon him a burning Roabe, and present him with a Mace, and burning crowne.
Pluto's made Emperour of the Ghosts below.
Where with his black guard he in darknes raignes,
Commanding hell, where Styx and Lethe flow,
And murderers are hang'd vp in burning chaines.
But leauing these: to your iudiciall spirits
I must appeale, and to your wonted grace,
To know from you, what ey-lesse Homer merits,
Whom you haue power to banish from this place,
But if you send me hence vncheckt with feare,
Once more I'l dare vpon this Stage t'appeare.